Gibault fights but falls to Clayton
Greyhounds take opening game of Guelker tourney 3-1
By Keith Schildroth
CLAYTON, MO. -- It's been a season of mountains to climb for Gibault. The test Monday against Clayton in the opening round of the Bob Guelker/CYC Tournament presented more difficult terrain.
The undefeated Greyhounds are the no. 2 ranked club in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch small school poll. Gibault, already playing without several starters because of injury or grade problems, had only two field players and a backup goalie for backup against Clayton.
The short bench was the product of the junior varsity Hawks competing against powerhouse CBC in the JV bracket of the Bob Guelker/CYC Tournament.
Gibault started slow, finished fast and played well in stretches before losing 3-1 to Clayton. Gibault fell to 2-10-1, and Clayton improved to 9-0-0.
Playing a schedule that includes Edwardsville, University (St. Louis), Granite City and St. John Vianney, Gibault has played well at times and Monday's game was a perfect example. The Hawks have been in a position to win nearly every game, but it hasn't helped that coach Darryn Haudrich has been forced to use a different starting lineup in every game this season.
"The JV team took 12 of our guys, and they only had one substitute," said Haudrich. "It just happens to be one of those things you run into with some injuries and players being ineligible. It kind of hampered us tonight."
Haudrich said the lack of bodies was not the deciding factor in the outcome.
"We looked flat," said Haudrich. "We didn't look like we came to play. We dug ourselves too much of an early hole."
Clayton senior forward Dillon Flynn set the tempo of the game early and often in the first half and was all over the Gibault defenders. Thanks to another terrific performance in goal from senior keeper Connor Olson, the Hawks stayed in the game.
Clayton junior midfielder Zach Stepleton almost gave the home club a early lead from inside the box when his shot was headed to the lower left corner. The attempt beat Olson, but Hawks midfielder Collin Schmidt cleared the ball off the line.
Then Greyhounds midfielder Rohan Tripathy got behind the Gibault backline, but defender Nate Janson managed to get back and clear the ball from Tripathy.
Stapleton was active again from the right side when he just missed outside the far right post at 26:20. Midfielder Zan Wellmon fired from the left side and his shot glanced off the crossbar.
Flynn finally solved Olson at 23:04. In traffic inside the box, he pushed a shot into the lower left corner past the Hawks keeper. Flynn's bid for a brace didn't give Olson much time to recover -- minutes later, the pesky forward hit a blast from close range that Olson smothered.
Clayton back Will Laakko got into the action when he fired from outside the box and put his shot outside the upper right corner. Flynn kept up the pressure during the final five minutes of the first half with three good scoring chances. He missed on two before Olson pushed a shot headed to the upper right corner out of danger.
"They found about every open seam that we wouldn't give them," said Haudrich. "They had guys that were over loading the side and making diagonal runs. They gave our defense a lot of fits. To me it's no surprise they are undefeated. They're sharp, and they looked crisp tonight."
Clayton kept the heat on in the second half. Wellmon was creating havoc once again as he just missed from outside the box at 35:10.
Tripathy gave Clayton a 2-0 lead when he scored a pretty goal into the upper left corner past Olson at 32:15. The Greyhounds were right back at Olson minutes later when Tripathy was in alone and the Gibault goalie swept the ball away from the Clayton midfielder.
Flynn scored his second goal of the match at 24:54 when he chipped a shot over Olson for a 3-0 lead. Olson made his best save of the game minutes later when he robbed Wellmon at the far post. Olson came back with another terrific stop off a free kick from Wellmon again. This time, he tried the near post but Olson was right on the spot.
"I feel like we beat ourselves," said Gibault back Alex Bira. "Most of the plays, I think we could have prevented. It was mainly communication throughout the back. This could have been a 2-1 or 1-1 game. They're quick. They can move the ball, and we just needed to be communicating in the back."
Gibault back Nate Janson made it interesting when he hit the Greyhounds with a quick, well-placed, free kick from outside the box at 6:51. The goal surprised Clayton keeper Andrew Matheny and made the score 3-1.
"A good cross by them," said Matheny. "It was a good goal."
Olson said the play of Flynn and Tripathy was consistent.
"I think their connections up-top hurt us," said Olson. "We've been maturing during the season and coming together as a team. We were thrown off a little tonight because of our lack of subs. I think it was a good result playing such a big school.
"They're one of the better teams we've played this year. We've started slow all year, and we're trying to change that during warmups. Trying to be prepared when we start."
Tripathy said the quick start was a first for the Greyhounds this season.
"We moved the ball really well," said Tripathy. "I think this is the fist game all season that we truly moved the ball around, though the midfield, and we had some really good combinations that resulted in two of our goals."
Clayton coach Tom Redmond said he didn't want his club to fall into a mindset of taking Gibault for granted because of the Hawks poor record.
"One of the things we really focused on before the game is Gibault has a really good history," said Redmond. "They're a small school, but they have a really good tradition.
"We tried to get the guys to focus on that and not their record. I think our guys did a good job tonight of just coming out and focusing on what we do and what we do better and not be so much focused on maybe Gibault being a little bit down this year."
Starting lineups
Gibault
G: Connor Olson
D: Mitchell Kohnz
D: Alex Bira
D: Spencer Biske
D: Kyle Barbour
MF: Helio Neto Franca
MF: Andrew Feldker
MF: Carlos Simoni
F: Collin Schmidt
F: Alex Merlenbach
F: Gavin Kohnz
Clayton
G: Andrew Matheny
D: Will Laakko
D: Clark Boeger
D: Alex Cramer
D: Ben Torio
MF: Nolan Waites
MF: Rohan Tripathy
MF: Zan Wellmon
F: Dillon Flynn
F: Zach Stapleton
F: Danny Puricelli
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Dillon Flynn, F, Sr., Clayton
Scoring summary
Gibault 0 - 1 - 1
Clayton 1 - 2 - 3
First half
C: Dillon Flynn, 23:04
Second half
C: Rohan Tripathy, 32:15
C: Flynn, 24:54
G: Nate Janson, 6:51
Greyhounds take opening game of Guelker tourney 3-1
By Keith Schildroth
CLAYTON, MO. -- It's been a season of mountains to climb for Gibault. The test Monday against Clayton in the opening round of the Bob Guelker/CYC Tournament presented more difficult terrain.
The undefeated Greyhounds are the no. 2 ranked club in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch small school poll. Gibault, already playing without several starters because of injury or grade problems, had only two field players and a backup goalie for backup against Clayton.
The short bench was the product of the junior varsity Hawks competing against powerhouse CBC in the JV bracket of the Bob Guelker/CYC Tournament.
Gibault started slow, finished fast and played well in stretches before losing 3-1 to Clayton. Gibault fell to 2-10-1, and Clayton improved to 9-0-0.
Playing a schedule that includes Edwardsville, University (St. Louis), Granite City and St. John Vianney, Gibault has played well at times and Monday's game was a perfect example. The Hawks have been in a position to win nearly every game, but it hasn't helped that coach Darryn Haudrich has been forced to use a different starting lineup in every game this season.
"The JV team took 12 of our guys, and they only had one substitute," said Haudrich. "It just happens to be one of those things you run into with some injuries and players being ineligible. It kind of hampered us tonight."
Haudrich said the lack of bodies was not the deciding factor in the outcome.
"We looked flat," said Haudrich. "We didn't look like we came to play. We dug ourselves too much of an early hole."
Clayton senior forward Dillon Flynn set the tempo of the game early and often in the first half and was all over the Gibault defenders. Thanks to another terrific performance in goal from senior keeper Connor Olson, the Hawks stayed in the game.
Clayton junior midfielder Zach Stepleton almost gave the home club a early lead from inside the box when his shot was headed to the lower left corner. The attempt beat Olson, but Hawks midfielder Collin Schmidt cleared the ball off the line.
Then Greyhounds midfielder Rohan Tripathy got behind the Gibault backline, but defender Nate Janson managed to get back and clear the ball from Tripathy.
Stapleton was active again from the right side when he just missed outside the far right post at 26:20. Midfielder Zan Wellmon fired from the left side and his shot glanced off the crossbar.
Flynn finally solved Olson at 23:04. In traffic inside the box, he pushed a shot into the lower left corner past the Hawks keeper. Flynn's bid for a brace didn't give Olson much time to recover -- minutes later, the pesky forward hit a blast from close range that Olson smothered.
Clayton back Will Laakko got into the action when he fired from outside the box and put his shot outside the upper right corner. Flynn kept up the pressure during the final five minutes of the first half with three good scoring chances. He missed on two before Olson pushed a shot headed to the upper right corner out of danger.
"They found about every open seam that we wouldn't give them," said Haudrich. "They had guys that were over loading the side and making diagonal runs. They gave our defense a lot of fits. To me it's no surprise they are undefeated. They're sharp, and they looked crisp tonight."
Clayton kept the heat on in the second half. Wellmon was creating havoc once again as he just missed from outside the box at 35:10.
Tripathy gave Clayton a 2-0 lead when he scored a pretty goal into the upper left corner past Olson at 32:15. The Greyhounds were right back at Olson minutes later when Tripathy was in alone and the Gibault goalie swept the ball away from the Clayton midfielder.
Flynn scored his second goal of the match at 24:54 when he chipped a shot over Olson for a 3-0 lead. Olson made his best save of the game minutes later when he robbed Wellmon at the far post. Olson came back with another terrific stop off a free kick from Wellmon again. This time, he tried the near post but Olson was right on the spot.
"I feel like we beat ourselves," said Gibault back Alex Bira. "Most of the plays, I think we could have prevented. It was mainly communication throughout the back. This could have been a 2-1 or 1-1 game. They're quick. They can move the ball, and we just needed to be communicating in the back."
Gibault back Nate Janson made it interesting when he hit the Greyhounds with a quick, well-placed, free kick from outside the box at 6:51. The goal surprised Clayton keeper Andrew Matheny and made the score 3-1.
"A good cross by them," said Matheny. "It was a good goal."
Olson said the play of Flynn and Tripathy was consistent.
"I think their connections up-top hurt us," said Olson. "We've been maturing during the season and coming together as a team. We were thrown off a little tonight because of our lack of subs. I think it was a good result playing such a big school.
"They're one of the better teams we've played this year. We've started slow all year, and we're trying to change that during warmups. Trying to be prepared when we start."
Tripathy said the quick start was a first for the Greyhounds this season.
"We moved the ball really well," said Tripathy. "I think this is the fist game all season that we truly moved the ball around, though the midfield, and we had some really good combinations that resulted in two of our goals."
Clayton coach Tom Redmond said he didn't want his club to fall into a mindset of taking Gibault for granted because of the Hawks poor record.
"One of the things we really focused on before the game is Gibault has a really good history," said Redmond. "They're a small school, but they have a really good tradition.
"We tried to get the guys to focus on that and not their record. I think our guys did a good job tonight of just coming out and focusing on what we do and what we do better and not be so much focused on maybe Gibault being a little bit down this year."
Starting lineups
Gibault
G: Connor Olson
D: Mitchell Kohnz
D: Alex Bira
D: Spencer Biske
D: Kyle Barbour
MF: Helio Neto Franca
MF: Andrew Feldker
MF: Carlos Simoni
F: Collin Schmidt
F: Alex Merlenbach
F: Gavin Kohnz
Clayton
G: Andrew Matheny
D: Will Laakko
D: Clark Boeger
D: Alex Cramer
D: Ben Torio
MF: Nolan Waites
MF: Rohan Tripathy
MF: Zan Wellmon
F: Dillon Flynn
F: Zach Stapleton
F: Danny Puricelli
Chicagoland Soccer Man of the Match: Dillon Flynn, F, Sr., Clayton
Scoring summary
Gibault 0 - 1 - 1
Clayton 1 - 2 - 3
First half
C: Dillon Flynn, 23:04
Second half
C: Rohan Tripathy, 32:15
C: Flynn, 24:54
G: Nate Janson, 6:51